Tuesday 7 May 2013

Four Patch Fun

Last week, I opened a jelly roll of blue and brown 2 1/2 inch  strips.


I sewed them into pairs.    Here are all
the pairs freshly ironed.    All that ironing was boring and I soon lost interest



 I traced a LOT of shapes for future applique projects instead.


I worked on them a bit Friday night while sewing with friends.  (I had M&Ms to get me through)
Today, I finished cutting all the pairs to a width  of 5 inches.  There was very little waste.



Here is the stack of pairs I ended up with.  Ready for some fun?



Choose two pairs.  Don't put the blues or browns beside each other.


Place the pairs right sides together with the seams  horizontal.  Sew down each side,  left and right.


Cut down the middle (2 1/2 inches here).  Each one will open from the middle out.


Well look what happened! Two sets of four patches :)


Place your pile  in easy reach, and start chain stitching in pairs, right sides together.
 This might  take awhile, but  it's fun!

xx debbie

12 comments:

  1. so glad you are having lots of fun Debbie i love the blus and brown together.xx

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    1. thank you dear shez. my plan is to use some of them for a baby boy quilt...combined with some applique.
      xx debbie

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  2. Will look forward to seeing what you end up with Debbie. Good to get the prep work done as this always takes the most time. Good luck with the rest of your 4 patches. Hugs......

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    1. hi noela, I think if I use them in a row by row quilt, combined with applique, they should be enough for at least a couple of quilts. will bring whatever I have for show and tell! xx debbie

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  3. Looks like a FuN afternoon I think! :)

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    1. oh yes...any day spent touching fabric is fun :)
      you already knew that though... xx debbie

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  4. the colours look great together - love choclate brown & light blue together - my "brother" high school wore that for their uniform.

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    1. how interesting about the school uniforms...i didn't think to put the colours together myself but I was inspired by other quilts I have seen in the past. I've always wanted to do a row by row quilt too and I have no idea why it has taken me this long LOL xx debbie

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  5. Hi Debbie, blues & browns are unlikely friends, these look great! What will they become?

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    1. hi Anthea, the plan is for a baby boy quilt or two. I have some cute puppy, bear, and dinosaur appliques to pick from. I will use the 4 patch with the appliques to make my first row by row quilt. That's all I know so far LOL. still a work in progress. xx debbie

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  6. I love to find new easy ways of doing things.... thanks... Your colours are great together...
    Hugz

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    1. Hi Fiona, thank you. I found a video showing how to make 4 patch from 2 charm squares and I adapted what I learned from that to use the 2 1/2 inch strip jelly roll I had on hand. Somehow, it worked out! It's a long way from back in 1973 when I first learned how to quilt by tracing each square from a cardboard template made from a cereal box. xx debbie

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